CardBus PC Card installation

The laptop model is Compaq Presario 1200 XL. As for the error message, the Laptop booted up into Windows ME OK, but kept looking for a missing network file (sorry, I can't remember now what, its been a couple of months since I tried it). I'm a little disinclined to try again, because I had a hard time getting to the System Restore feature, since the message about the missing network file kept popping up in a continual loop, no matter how many times I closed it. I did finally manage to get to the System Restore and was able go back to the last error free configuration.

There is something in the Compaq Presario manual (the manual for its use with the Windows ME operating system) about known network problems with a Laptop Windows ME OS, which describes how to set up a dual boot with a second boot configuration set up for a non-network.

If the Presario 1200 XL would work with the buscard, would that be the way to go? Set up a second boot configuration and then try again to install the cardon that configuration? I'm not at all familiar with a dual boot process, and I'm also very less familiar with Laptop quirks or how to fix them than I am with a desktop PC and the Windows 98 OS, where I can get into DOS or do a selective startup, etc.

Thanks.

I believe for the dual-boot, you would need additioanl software to let you choose your OS at startup. Plus, you would need an additional license for the additional OS. I would recommend not dual-booting!

I would however use the cardbus card if you can.
Cardbus = 32-bit architechture and drivers
PCMCIA  = 16-bit architechture and drivers

Since I do not know the error you recieved I may not be able to help there, but I can try to look up the laptop model number to see if it accepts the cardbus card.

Thanks for the help everyone. Yes, I think I had dual-boot mixed up with use of a second hardware profile.  I tried in vain to find specs on the Compaq site for my Presario 1200 XL, even the manual hardcopy doesn't explain much at all about network cards or the capabilities of the PCMCIA slot.

In my case, the two separate hardware profile configurations I would need would be the present one for my home network (Phoneline) and the new one for the buscard link to my office network which has a standard network server. (I'm not sure at this point what the server is running.) Our office PC's are mostly Windows 98.  

I already have networking installed on the laptop because of my home phoneline network configuration. The Instructions in the ME Manual say to copy the Original hardware profile configuration, rename it, then restart Windows, click on the new hardware profile, bypass the log-in screen, and in Properties for the Network Adapters in the Device Manager disable the network adapter for the ethernet for that hardware profile. In my case, I'd want to disable the Homelink Phoneline Network Adapter and leave the Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adapter enabled? Is that correct and is it possible?

To complicate matters, the Device Manager lists a number of network adapters from American Online as well, but none of them have ever caused problems with my home network connection.

Then from that hardware profile I should try again to install the cardbus with the newest drivers (if I can find them on the Linksys website) and, when I reboot, choose the 2nd Hardware profile and sign in at the login screen, when I want to connect to the network in my office through the network cable?

Thanks, again.